Blu-ray is great - pricey listings on Amazon.co.jp, though

[thebluemax]

Originally Posted by zMadMonk

Sorry you feel that way. Apparently, you are one of those people who can't appreciate the better audio and picture - either due to a bad setup, using the wrong cables, or you just are physically incapable of seeing a difference.

The main point is: Keep enjoying your movies, regardless. If standard DVD is good enough, bully for you.

I, for one, smell a troll.... either that, or someone that obviously knows not what he is talking about.

I concur, If one can't appreciate the differance then they have no business exploring the enormous quality of BD over SDVD

[Betamax]

Yea, its threads like this that almost makes me embarrased that I'm a member here. You guys are brutal!! Sometimes I dont think some of you guys even read the responses the OP makes and just go right for the kill. That sucks..... This guy came back here even after being called a troll only to try explain himself and then he APOLOGIZE's for making the comments he did. After all that and there are still guys who probably didnt even read the whole thread except for the first post and then came out slamming. Its good to know that the rest of us BR members always get the facts. I dont usually post to these type of threads but seriously.. WTF??!
To the OP, thats a nice setup ya just bought... enjoy it. Welcome to the forums!

Btw, I own a Dodge Viper GTS that I bought brand new and paid off. I dont drive it much cause I hate the friggin price of gas.... but thats only cause i'm cheap!!

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by Betamax

Yea, its threads like this that almost makes me embarrased that I'm a member here. You guys are brutal!! Sometimes I dont think some of you guys even read the responses the OP makes and just go right for the kill. That sucks..... This guy came back here even after being called a troll only to try explain himself and then he APOLOGIZE's for making the comments he did. After all that and there are still guys who probably didnt even read the whole thread except for the first post and then came out slamming. Its good to know that the rest of us BR members always get the facts. I dont usually post to these type of threads but seriously.. WTF??!
To the OP, thats a nice setup ya just bought... enjoy it. Welcome to the forums!

Btw, I own a Dodge Viper GTS that I bought brand new and paid off. I dont drive it much cause I hate the friggin price of gas.... but thats only cause i'm cheap!!

Most don't even sound like they read his post. More like they're just jumping on the bandwagon of someone else that already misinterpereted the OP. It is a shame

[juanleche]

Originally Posted by anthonybrooker

I decided the battle of the format wars had been won by Sony's Blu-ray so I went out and bought a new Playstation 3 solely for watching blu-rays. Got my first blu-rays yesterday; Goodfellas, The Prestige and Ronin. The picture quality and sound is simply stunning... BUT... that's the last of my purchases for the foreseeable future. i'm not prepared to fork out $25+ to watch a movie, no matter how good the quality. Now that Warner has made up it's mind, and Sony clearly has an unbeatable lead, it's time for the studios and manufacturers to reward it's loyal customers by bring the price of the media down to <$20.

Until that day happens I'll be buying DVDs again because the quality difference between the two is not worth an additional $10-$20.

I won't pay more than $20 on a movie, I currently have 15 blurays. To compare I've bought a total of 40 dvds over the past 10 years. I have a high standard for movie quality and price ratio to qualify buying a movie. If I can suggest, keep an eye out for sales and specials, some really good deals come and go, this site is great for giving us the heads up btw

[richieb1971]

In the USA things are different from everywhere else.

Its funny when an import is out thats region free about 10,000 Americans want to jump on it until they realize "Holy mother, its $35 before shipping". Anthony bought 3 titles at that price.

Cars just came out on region B, its about $35 in most places. Yet, its less than $20 in the USA.

I don't moan about prices, I just scavenge ebay, exchange shops and such until I get the product at the price i'm willing to pay. The MSRP's could be lowered a bit though and it is a bit tough seeing you Americans make collections of 100's of BD's with availability and price you can get it at.

[TheTenth]

In France, the first DVDs were 35-40 Euros (OK it was French fracs at the time). It took about 1.5 year to go down to 30 Euros for a new release and 25 for older ones. And it hasn't changed!!! We can find some movies around 15 but that's catalog titles or movies successful ago 5 years ago.

[Yeha-Noha]

Come on guys! This person is not a troll for goodness sake. This guy went for the Blu! I don't agree with him that the difference between the cost of BDs and DVDs doesn't make it worth buying a BD. There is too much to gain in PQ and AQ. I would never buy DVDs again no matter if they sold for a quarter each.

Anthony, if your town has rental stores like Hollywood Video, BlockBuster, et al, why not rent BDs until the prices come down?

I pay premium prices for BDs. That's me. My wife and I don't have enough time to hunt around for bargain BDs no further than our local Sam's Club where they sell for only 25 bucks each.

Instead of flaming this guy, how about letting him know where he can find bargain BDs, please

[johnnyd1]

Originally Posted by rwojtalewicz

Come on guys! This person is not a troll for goodness sake. This guy went for the Blu! I don't agree with him that the difference between the cost of BDs and DVDs doesn't make it worth buying a BD. There is too much to gain in PQ and AQ. I would never buy DVDs again no matter if they sold for a quarter each.

Anthony, if your town has rental stores like Hollywood Video, BlockBuster, et al, why not rent BDs until the prices come down?

I pay premium prices for BDs. That's me. My wife and I don't have enough time to hunt around for bargain BDs no further than our local Sam's Club where they sell for only 25 bucks each.

Instead of flaming this guy, how about letting him know where he can find bargain BDs, please

Hey pal,
Did you read his ORIGINAL post ????

He brought it upon himself! He may have changed his tune now, but his original post was troll food !

[WickyWoo]

Long story short

1- Japanese home video prices were set when the yen was 200+ to $1 US. It is now closer to 120. So back in 1983 or so, 5800yen was $29.95 give or take. While the price at home has not changed, the exchange rate has. Remember that prices are tied to cost of doing buisness in the country as well as expected market, which brings me to 2

2- Japan is a rental, not a buy society far more than any other first world nation, probably due to limited space. The used market is large and healthy there, vastly more than any other. The vast majority of people don't hold onto a movie they buy more than a few months. So with the volume being so much lower, the prices are going to be higher. For example, 24 runs 5 times the US price because it's deemed primarily for rental. Blade Runner SE was $150 for the DVD 5-disc, and $250 for the suitcase (DVD, NOT Blu or HD DVD) back in Dec

[anthonybrooker]

Well, my 25 blu-rays arrived and i'm hooked. Even went out and bought a semi-ok home theatre system (sony ht-sf2000 which is $900 in Tokyo) because i don't have the room for a full blown system. even with just those puny speakers, my TV viewing has changed dramatically.

The deals on amazon.com are so good compared to here in Japan that I just ordered another 15 movies today.

The only bummer is a lot of the films not available in the US are available in Japan right now. A good example would be independence day: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-la...language=en_JP

Thing is they're a bit of a premium over the US versions and usually lacking in extras. Plus the cover is all in Japanese etc. The cost of ID4 is Yen4195 which is about $39. US cost will be $27.95.

Anyway, it is what it is and I will be ordering from the US from now on.

Now all I need is for Universal and Paramount to start releasing blu-rays so I can quickly build my collection.

Oh, and one final note. I am backing down on my original statement that blu-rays are not worth more than $20. Some of them are so beautifully presented on the screen that now I think they're worth more. A good example would be Last Samurai and the Patriot. Simply stunning.

I am big enough to admit when I was wrong.

Tony

[WickyWoo]

If you find any used shops in AKihabara with a good Blu selection feel free to list it here, I didn'tfind bupkus when I was there a few months ago, only used blus were in Kyoto that i found. I know they're there, just not looking in the right place

[anthonybrooker]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

If you find any used shops in AKihabara with a good Blu selection feel free to list it here, I didn'tfind bupkus when I was there a few months ago, only used blus were in Kyoto that i found. I know they're there, just not looking in the right place

i'll look around and come back to you.

[diamondfoxxx]

I'm quite new here, but when I read the OP's post, I never thought he was a troll. It's amazing how you 'senior' members go for the kill when anything negative is said against blu-ray--the op is no troll, he lives in Japan and he visited the amazon (Japan) site only to find the prices were insane--which is quite true, they are all in the 3500-4000 Yen range/35-40$. That's all he said, and you come on to him? What's wrong with you people?

To the OP: I live in Sri Lanka, and do you know the price they charge here for a blu-ray? 50$. Yup. But I then decided to shop at Amazon (US site), the prices are reasonable in America I guess.
(sigh) I wish I was never born in this shitty country.

[crystal_sun]

high definition movies should expect premium price because it's the best thing out there. You don't see the best blu-ray player for the same amount of a dvd player, etc.

I think the price is about right. Later, the price will decrease.

If you don't want to pay the extra for high definition, then see ya later and be happy in the DVD world.

It's like going from a high speed DSL connection back to 56K modem. And yes, there's a big difference to pay the extra money for it vs. watching DVD.

[diamondfoxxx]

I agree that we should pay the price for the extra meticulous work they put when creating High Definition movies, but the price shouldn't be unreasonable. 25$, is okay I guess but once it reaches 30$ It's irrational.